Hi everyone! Today I am hosting author Kevin Cox and we are going to learn about book one of his Young Adult Fantasy series, Bewilderness.
Get to know the author: Kevin Cox
Welcome, Kevin! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
I live in a small town in southwest Georgia. I’ve always been interested in technology and new inventions, currently work in the IT field. I change hobbies a decent amount, but I’ve played guitar for a while, a lot of late 80s early 90s hard rock. Writing a novel is a fairly new thing for me. I’ve done some writing here and there, but nothing on the scale of a novel. It’s been a lot fun, which I never would have thought. That’s what’s great about trying new things, you may be surprised by what you enjoy doing.
What inspired you to write this book?
It’s hard to break it down to one thing. Thoughts you have over time that kind of stay with you. An interesting point someone makes in a conversation. It’s all this input that sticks with you and you think that would make an interesting story and then you keep going and more starts pouring out. I really enjoyed the fantasy movies that came out during the 80s. There was something magical about them that I haven’t seen or read in a while and wanted to attempt to recapture that in some way.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
I would say about 3 years. I had a concept and I knew the first chapter was going to be the most difficult to write, so I went ahead and wrote a chapter. From there it just kept branching out. I made an outline, but it kept going beyond the outline, so at some point I ignored the outline and just kept writing. After I had a first draft, I went back and made a new outline to get a better view of where everything needed to go. Once I got past that, it started coming together fairly quickly.
What makes your story unique?
I think structurally it’s a bit different from most books. It crosses between three different worlds, with each world having its own story. There is a central theme that connects in them all to the main story. It’s also allegorical so at the end you are sort of given the key to what that symbolism is, and how it ties the whole story together as well.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
I think anyone that has ever thought about what might be out there in the universe, in other galaxies. What kind of life may be out there? What might other cultures and civilizations be like? There’s a lot of action in the story but also a lot of exploration.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
The allegorical part, without spoiling too much, deals with sort of being stuck in your own world or your comfort zone. It might feel nice and safe, but you don’t want to spend your whole life there. As much as you may want to explore what life has to offer it’s difficult to leave that comfort to go out into the unknown.
What holds you there could be anxiety; it could be depression. Whatever it is, the hardest part is taking that first step to try something new, or maybe to admit something is wrong and that you need outside help. I think that’s a place that everyone has been in some capacity. So hopefully this will be one more voice telling someone that they need to get out there and do what they’ve been dreaming of or in some cases to reach out for help if it’s not something they can do alone.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
I think it has to be this scene where Ambrielle, the main character, is being chased across the desert by these shadows called Nulthereals. The Nulthereals can read people’s thoughts and whisper to their minds as though they are the voice inside your head. So, as they are chasing her, they can communicate and tempt her when they start to close in. She’s exhausted physically from running for her life while also mentally stressed trying to resist the control they have on her thoughts.
Bewilderness
Sixteen-year-old Ambrielle has no memory of her life. In fact, she doesn’t even know if her name is Ambrielle, the name her new alien friend gave her when she woke up mysteriously stranded in a desolate world with no humans. As she slowly cobbles together bits and pieces of her life, Ambrielle tries to fit in with the many alien species she encounters and settle their divisive conflicts, all while avoiding the dark forces of The Shadows and trying to return to Earth.
Content Notes: None declared by the author.
Book Excerpt from
Bewilderness
Ambrielle’s mind reeled at those words. The Whisperer was in her mind again.
“Who are you?” she said out loud. She tried to make her own thoughts even more clear and focused, deliberately thinking every word slowly and surely.
Come to us and we will show you.
The slow whispered voice was now as distinct as the one that followed her in the desert. As she fought against the numbing in her head, the voice had become partially unbound from her mind. Ambrielle began to clearly recognize the difference between her own thoughts and the whispered ones. As she stared out across the desert, the source of the whispers became visible as it floated over the sand towards her. The shadow changed shape like liquid smoke or black flame.
The dunes behind it warped like a lensing effect, as it moved closer. A violent scintillating outline, a thin corona of white, buzzed as though it was at odds with the air around it. Fear shot through her again like a lightning bolt. She turned and ran towards the spring as the shadow pursued at surprising speed.
Once it reached the forest, the trees in its path bent towards it like some magnetic force was drawing them in. Limbs and branches crumpled and broke as it passed through. A treetop broke off, flying into the shadow, vanishing with a sparking light as it passed into its void. One of the trees directly in its path, bent and uprooted, disappearing into the darkness.
Ambrielle ran towards the spring, but ahead of her were more branches cracking and breaking. A second shadow was coming towards her, swallowing up foliage in its path. As they consumed the trees and plant life around them, they began to slow down but still moved fast enough to catch her if she didn’t keep running. She turned and ran towards the dunes where the red sun was hanging above the horizon. She was cut off from the spring, but in this world, there were other springs.
She dashed across the sands, slowing up as her feet sank into the deep sediment sifting down the side of the first dune. Ambrielle jumped as she ran, letting gravity do the work as she went down the slope. She tried to move before her feet sank too deep into the sand. It was working until she mistimed her jump and one of her feet plunged too far into a soft pocket before she could stop.
The shift in balance caused her to tumble over, down the side of the dune. Instead of stopping her momentum, she let herself continue tumbling over and over down the slope until she slowed. She then rolled onto her feet and started running, checking over her shoulder to find the two shadows still moving towards her.
They continued the pursuit, never changing speed as if they were confident they were going to eventually catch her. For now, she was outgaining them, but wasn’t sure how long she could keep this pace up. She hit the base between two dunes, passing by the honeycomb rock formation she had seen before and began the climb the next dune. She knew they would gain some ground on her while she was trudging up the deep sand of the slope.
Sand cascaded over her feet, burying her legs further with each step, taking a lot of her stamina. She tried to pace herself on the climb, then she would make up for it on the next descent. The shadows were getting uncomfortably close. As she reached the hard sand near the top, they had begun to glide up the side of the dune. Ambrielle sprinted across the firm surface at the top of the dune and then jumped straight out as far as she could once she reached the next slope down.
She fell for a few seconds and then hit the soft, deep sand, regaining her footing and jumping again to use gravity to speed her descent. The shadows weren’t slowed down by a climb, but she had made up some distance by the speed of her fall.
The next dune wasn’t as soft. It had rock that stuck out through the sand and close to the surface. She was able to climb this faster, using her arms on some of the rocks to propel herself forward. After crossing a few more dunes, she came to a rocky canyon. She had more traction here helping her speed, but the terrain was rougher. Falling could mean being hurt, immobilized, or worse.
This terrain was familiar, an exact copy of the where she had been before. It helped since there would be no major surprises, though she didn’t have the luxury of going around the cliffs this time. Her lungs where taxed, and it was getting difficult to maintain her breathing. Checking behind her, she had gained a more comfortable lead over the two shadows. She could risk taking the next climb up the cliff ahead a little more slowly.
Ambrielle scanned the rocks coming towards her, searching for the easiest path to climb up. She saw an area that wasn’t too high and climbed up on the first patch of hardened dirt. She reached for a rock that she thought she could use to pull herself up to the next point, but she couldn’t reach it well enough to do so. She had to climb down and find another way. She ran alongside the cliff wall, hoping to find an alternative path. She needed to stay on the move, even if she had to go around this cliff.
Ambrielle saw a place in the wall where some of the dirt had collapsed and left part of a sloped area that she may be able to climb. Lifting her leg high, she was able to get enough leverage to move herself upward. She then sidestepped across a ledge to reach a low hanging rock that she was able to use to hoist herself up enough to get a foot on a makeshift platform.
She has used up a lot of time on this climb and knew she had to get to the top soon. The two shadows were approaching the base of the cliff. She tried to keep her fear in check and focus. She could not afford to make any mistakes now.
It is pointless to struggle like this. There is nothing to fear. The voices entered her head again as she struggled to remain in control of her own thoughts.
“Stop chasing me then!” she shouted.
She was fighting with the cliff physically, while mentally battling the shadows’ presence in her mind. The stress was becoming too much for her, but she made it to the slope where she could climb the rest of the way to the top.
Ambrielle darted across the hard surface, increasing the gap between her and the shadows. Her arms were a bit tired from the climb and stung from the scrapes she had acquired. There was another valley ahead as she reached the end of the cliff. Climbing down would work in her favor for speed, but she had to be more careful.
She slid to the rim of the cliff and lowered herself down to a ledge she could stand on. Holding on to jagged nooks and crannies of the wall, she searched for the next place she could stand. The shadows drifted towards her as she methodically climbed down, closing the distance between them.
If only you could see your actions are irrational. Your fear is unfounded. We merely seek to bring you to the end of unhappiness, of everything you struggle against, anything that causes you grief and pain. If you would only give in and come with us.
It was as though her mind was being assaulted. It grew stronger the closer the shadows came. She had to get back to ground and get further away from these things. She took a blind step and found a ledge, her foot probed for another spot she could make it to. She found one below to her right. Holding on to the rocks, she jumped across towards it. She lost her grip and fell on the jump. The back of her head hit something hard as she tumbled to the ground.
Interested?
Find Bewilderness on Goodreads and Amazon.
Many thanks to Kevin for sharing an excerpt with us! Connect with him on his website, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon. You can also explore character art of the website.
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details.
Cover image: Photo on Unsplash
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